Apollo Hospitals Group's Proton Cancer Centre gets JCI accreditation

New Delhi: Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals Group on Friday said its Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai has received accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI). This makes Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC) the country's first dedicated advanced cancer centre to receive this international accreditation and the eighth hospital in the Group to join the portfolio of JCI accredited hospitals, Apollo Hospitals said in a statement.

The JCI accreditation is the gold standard given to organisations that practice and follow the highest international standards in order to provide world-class patient care and safety, the statement said.

APCC has been the preferred cancer centre across the globe for proton therapy and cancer care management, it added.

Commenting on the development, Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy said it is for the first time a cancer centre in this part of the world has been certified by JCI.

The Apollo Proton Cancer Centre is completely functional and in one year, it has done almost 200 cases with outstanding success, he added while addressing a virtual press conference.

"More than 25 years ago, we noted the growing prevalence of cancer in India, the lack of oncology centres in the country and this was the genesis of Apollo embarking on advanced cancer care," Reddy said.

From the very beginning, Apollo Hospitals brought in the most advanced technologies in cancer care and even the recent launch of South Asia and the Middle East's first proton therapy at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, reiterates its commitment to investing in the best available care for its patients, he added.

The centre will not only provide the best possible cancer care but will also help all other cancer centres of the group, he added.

"The cost of opening the Proton Cancer Centre has been around Rs 1,300 crore, " Reddy told .

"Joint Commission International (JCI) commends Apollo Proton Cancer Centre for its commitment to meeting international quality and patient safety standards by earning JCI accreditation during the global pandemic," JCI President and CEO Paula Wilson said.

The centre introduced proton therapy for the first time in India with the expertise of a multi-disciplinary cancer management teams and an organ-specific practice, Apollo Hospitals said.

"APCC has become the first dedicated cancer hospital in India to be accredited by JCI, the gold standard for quality.... Further, this milestone was achieved despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, which underscores the APCC's commitment to quality and advanced patient care," Apollo Hospitals Vice-Chairperson Preetha Reddy said.

When asked about the number of cancer facilities in the Apollo Hospitals Group, Preetha Reddy told , "Within our system, we have two completely standalone cancer hospitals and within our other hospital systems, we have separate cancer facilities. So, we have a total of 13 cancer centres within the Apollo ecosystem".

On the journey of the healthcare provider going forward as a group, she said Apollo now has grown into a large healthcare conglomerate so each one of its verticals will has a lot of focus.

Speaking about the impact of COVID-19, Reddy said the pandemic and the lockdown has definitely hurt hospital occupancies. It has been extremely hard for the hospitals and that is why, we are sincerely appealing to the government to help the sector go forward and survive.